Armed with bundles of white roses — assembled to represent what they say are incidents of violence in the state’s 143 lowest-performing schools every 17 minutes — lawmakers and supporters urged that a measure to allow those students to attend alternative institutions be passed before the end of the year.

That was the latest argument from school-choice advocates Tuesday at a news conference organized by Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative Harrisburg think-tank.

A bill to provide vouchers for private schools and to expand tax credits for businesses that contribute to scholarship programs was approved by the Senate in October. Read More.